Miracle-workers: Gamecocks whip A&M to get back in title contention

Ask and you shall receive – or maybe you’ll just take it.

Their hopes for a fourth straight regular-season SEC championship on thin ice and playing without injured All-American center Alaina Coates, No. 7 South Carolina whipped Texas A&M 80-64 on Thursday and thrust itself firmly back in the title hunt.

With Kentucky beating Mississippi State, the Gamecocks (23-4, 13-2 SEC) are now re-tied with the Bulldogs for the SEC lead with one game to go. All USC has to do is beat that same Kentucky team on Sunday and it will be regular-season champion. MSU can also claim the championship with a win on Sunday, but would lose the No. 1 seed in next week’s SEC tournament to the Gamecocks.

Only one team in SEC history (Tennessee, 1998-04) has ever won four or more consecutive regular-season championships. The Gamecocks, after Kentucky helped them out, will be trying to become the second after they honor their seniors on Sunday.

Coates was ruled out before tipoff with a sprained right ankle, sustained during the loss at Missouri that cost USC first place and painted a grim picture for its title hopes. But the Gamecocks, even without their 6-foot-4 center to challenge A&M’s height, went right at the Aggies in the paint.

USC dominated the interior 54-22, using its speed (Dawn Staley started both point guards) to disrupt A&M on the perimeter and deny inside passes. Turnovers started becoming Gamecock points as a back-and-forth first 15 minutes turned into a comfortable USC halftime lead.

The Gamecocks poured it on in the second half, stretching the lead to as much as 20. Bianca Cuevas-Moore responded to a starting nod with 16 points, while A’ja Wilson had 21 points with 15 rebounds. Allisha Gray had 12 points. Kaela Davis had 10 rebounds, Cuevas-Moore had six steals and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan continued her strong end-of-season stretch with 13 points.

The title scenario is simple – if USC wins, it’s the champion and No. 1 seed. If USC and MSU each win, MSU is also the champion, but the No. 2 seed. If each team loses, each team is the champion and USC is the No. 1 seed.

If USC loses to Kentucky and MSU beats Tennessee, the Lady Bulldogs would win the undisputed title and the No. 1 seed.

South Carolina hosts No. 22 Kentucky at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 7:08 AM with the headline "Miracle-workers: Gamecocks whip A&M to get back in title contention."